Various electro-optical systems have been developed for reading optical indicia, such as barcodes. A barcode is a coded pattern of graphical indicia comprised of a series of bars and spaces of varying widths. In a barcode, the bars and spaces having differing light reflecting characteristics. Some of the barcodes have a one-dimensional structure in which bars and spaces are spaced apart in one direction to form a row of patterns. Examples of one-dimensional barcodes include Uniform Product Code (UPC), which is typically used in retail store sales. Some of the barcodes have a two-dimensional structure in which multiple rows of bar and space patterns are vertically stacked to form a single barcode. Examples of two-dimensional barcodes include Code 49 and PDF417, which are respectively described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,794,239 and 5,304,786.
Systems that use one or more solid-state imagers for reading and decoding barcodes are typically referred to as imaging-based barcode readers, imaging scanners, or imaging readers. A solid-state imager generally includes a plurality of photosensitive elements or pixels aligned in one or more arrays. Examples of solid-state imagers include charged coupled devices (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imaging chips.
FIG. 1A shows an imaging scanner 50 in accordance with some implementations. The imaging scanner 50 has a window 56 and a housing 58 with a handle. The imaging scanner 50 also has a base 52 for supporting itself on a countertop. The imaging scanner 50 can be used in a hands-free mode as a stationary workstation when it is placed on the countertop. The imaging scanner 50 can also be used in a handheld mode when it is picked up off the countertop and held in an operator's hand. In the hands-free mode, products can be slid, swiped past, or presented to the window 56. In the handheld mode, the imaging scanner 50 can be moved towards a barcode on a product, and a trigger 54 can be manually depressed to initiate imaging of the barcode. In some implementations, the base 52 can be omitted, and the housing 58 can also be in other shapes.
In FIG. 1A, a cable 59 is also connected to the base 52. The cable 59 can be implemented to provide the power to the imaging scanner 50. In other implementations, as shown in FIG. 1B, the imaging scanner 50 can be detachably placed in a cradle 100. When the imaging scanner 50 detachably settled in the cradle 100, the imaging scanner 50 can be charged with a cable 59 connected to the cradle 100. When the imaging scanner 50 is removed from the cradle 100, it functions a cordless handheld device that can be freely move around. In addition, the imaging scanner 50 generally can communicate with the cradle 100 through certain wireless connections, such as a Bluetooth connection. Quite often, in a warehouse or in a retail environment there are large numbers of cordless scanners and cradles. Since there are no wires, it is nearly impossible to tell which cradle the scanner is connected to or which scanners are connected to the base by observation only. In one example as shown in FIG. 2, any of the four imaging scanners 50A, 50B, 50C, and 50D can be connected with the cradle 100, which is associated with a Point of Sale (POS) 200. One of the current methods to determine the connection is by scanning a barcode with an imaging scanner, and listening for the error beeps or to see which POS the data comes out. This method is not very convenient. Further more, this method can become even more difficult if more then one cradle is connected to a PC and all imaging scanners belong to a particular cradle need to be located, because up to seven imaging scanners can belong to one cradle under Bluetooth standard. Therefore, it may be desirable to find a better method for identifying a Bluetooth connection between a cradle and one or more handheld data capture devices, such as handheld imaging scanners.